Have paper and pencil ready to write down ideas and sketches as you design.

Clear out a landing zone area.

Look around for different things that use levers, such as saws, scissors, wheelbarrows, and your arm.

3

Think about the challenge

What is a lever? How does a lever work?

What are the different parts of a lever?

How will using a lever help you launch the ball high enough so you can catch it?

What force will you use to send your Ping-Pong ball flying?

TIP: Levers are handy tools because they can convert a small motion (for example, the flick of your foot) into a large motion (the end of the lever flinging your ball into the air).

TIP: A lever is not effective on its own. It needs to pivot or turn on something at a certain point in order to lift a load (such as a Ping-Pong ball) with less effort. That point is called the fulcrum. A screw on a pair of scissors is a fulcrum.

4

Think about and write down your ideas

List some devices that you know that launch items into the air using a lever. (Baseball bat, catapult)

List different ways you can create the force, or impact or pressure, to launch the Ping-Pong ball into the air.

What can you do to make your launch impressive?

TIP: Inventors’ and engineers’ first ideas rarely solve a problem. They brainstorm ideas, try different ideas, learn from mistakes, and try again––this is part of the design process.

5

Look at the materials

What materials do you have to build the different parts of your launcher?

What will you use to hold the Ping-Pong ball in place?

How will you develop the force you need to send the ball flying?

6

Design and build the launcher

Decide whether your launcher will sit on the table or be held in your hand.

TIP: If the ball doesn’t fly high enough for you to catch, try moving the location of the fulcrum.

9

Did you know?

Inside the EngineeringLevers, levers, everywhere. Who doesn’t want to get more done with little effort? Baseball players use a lever every time they are up at bat. When you swing a bat, you move the part you’re holding just a little bit. But the other end of the bat moves quite a lot. The same thing happens with the flippers on pinball machines—a little flick sends the ball flying. A see-saw is a big lever, though you would need a lot of force to send someone flying! And hundreds of years ago, soldiers hurled heavy rocks using catapults, which use a lever system to send them flying.

10

Try this next!

Increase the number of balls you launch. Redesign your launcher so it can send two balls in the air at the same time.

Play a launch and catch game. Set up a target in your landing zone and challenge a friend to a launch and catch game.